Injustice
by Renchikara
Summary: AU. Ichigo and his Hollow are twins, but they are separated when Hichigo is falsely accused of murdering Masaki Kurosaki, their mother. Sent to an asylum, Hichigo grows up desperately wanting the truth to be discovered, and as Ichigo as no recollection of what really happened on June 17, how can even he believe his twin is innocent?
1. Chapter 1

**One**

* * *

Ichigo stands at his mother's grave, his twin sisters clutching on to him on either side of him. Yuzu, is of course, crying. Karin is trying to put on a brave face but the ten-year-old Ichigo knows how hard it must be for her. He himself is feeling rather guilty. Today is the day they visit their mother's grave, June 17, one year after she died, but his thoughts are elsewhere.

He's thinking about his twin.

* * *

Ichigo and Hichigo were inseparable

When they were both very young, they demanded that they go to the dojo to the learn to fight. Their reasons were simple: to protect, to become strong. Over the years, the twins showed very different personalities, but there was a bond between the brothers.

Ichigo, the older twin brother, always meant well. He tried being nice to everyone, despite the fact he got bullied for his unique hair colour. He was generally there to keep his younger twin brother in check, because Hichigo was always fighting. If someone was mean to Ichigo, 'Shiro-chan-' would be there faster than you could say 'sorry'. He, too, was ridiculed because of his peculiar features, though most children were scared of the albino. It was his eyes that frightened them; black sclera, yellow irises. Hichigo hated being different, and because he was pale white all over his own family nicknamed him 'Shiro-chan'.

Having two sets of twins in a family was quite hard to handle. Karin and Yuzu came along a few years later and it was easy for the four siblings to start bickering amongst each other Ichigo and Yuzu were more easy-going, and preferred no conflict, whereas Hichigo and Karin were more headstrong and bold. Isshin and Masaki loved their children, but they could be a real handful.

The fighting started happening when the first set of twins were about five or six. Isshin and Masaki knew there was something going on. Ichigo would often come home from school crying, the younger albino twin clutching onto his arm with a stony expression on his face. Hichigo always had blood and bruises on him. Their parents inquired about any bullying, but neither of the twins would ever say anything.

* * *

Ichigo wonders why these memories are so vivid. His heart feels as if it is breaking in two when he thinks of Masaki or Shiro-chan. He misses them so badly. Why were they taken away from him?

And was it Shiro-chan's fault?

'Ichigo?' Karin whispers finally. He looks down to find her gazing up at him, tears shining in her eyes, threatening to leak onto her cheeks.

'Yeah, Karin?' he murmurs softly.

'When are we going to visit Shiro-chan's grave?' Karin asks him.

'I... I don't know.'

But Ichigo does know.

He knows Hichigo isn't really dead.

He knows the _truth._


	2. Chapter 2

**Two**

* * *

'Ow,' Ichigo moans, clutching his grazed knee as he walks along the pavement away from the soccer pitch.

'Quit moaning,' Hichigo mutters, staring at his twin in exasperation. 'It's not gonna kill you.'

Ichigo puts on his brave face and stands up straight. 'This is nothing!' he announces, and Hichigo snorts with laughter.

'Hey! It's not funny!'

'I never said it was,' Hichigo says, smiling. All of a sudden, a droplet of water hits him of the nose and he looks up to see the grey clouds above them.

'Uh oh. It's raining,' Ichigo says.

'Let's run there!' Hichigo shouts, tearing off down the street.

'Wait!' Ichigo calls, pulling out his folded up yellow raincoat out of his pocket and pulling it on. Hichigo stares back at his twin and realises that it is probably a good idea. A minute later, a small white-haired boy wearing a blue raincoat races down the street with his twin following behind in a limp.

'Wait up!' Ichigo cries, not wanting to get left behind.

The two eight-year-olds are meant to wait for their father to pick them up at the park. Both of them decide that it's probably a good idea if they shelter under the old yew tree that Hichigo once fell out of and broke his leg when he attempted to climb it. The rain is already pouring down, very heavy, and the twins are quite tired from their rush here. Both of them slump down against the tree and Hichigo rests his head on Ichigo's shoulder.

'Hey... Shiro-chan?' Ichigo says after a moment of silence but the sound of the rain pounding down.

'I told you to stop calling me that!' Hichigo says indignantly, blinking raindrops out of his eyes.

'Shiro-chan,' Ichigo continues, ignoring his twin's remark. 'I... I'm sorry about letting that goal in... we could have won and it was all my fault.'

The game is not the true reason Ichigo is sorry; it is the fight after that was caused by the results of the game that Ichigo is apologising for. He's sorry for Hichigo being so hopelessly outnumbered, and there wasn't a damn thing Ichigo could do about it.

'It's okay,' Hichigo murmurs sleepily. 'Those cowards will get it coming next time, anyway.'

Ichigo smiles and closes his eyes.

Eventually they hear something other than the rain. Footsteps, quite heavy, a grown man perhaps. They are drawing closer and closer. The two eight-year-olds open their eyes to look up at a tall man wearing a black suit and holding an umbrella of the same colour above his head. He has curly brown hair, rectangular-shaped glasses and a friendly smile.

'You're the Kurosaki boys, aren't you?' he says in a deep, nice-sounding hypnotic voice. Ichigo is about to nod when his twin says sharply, 'We're not supposed to talk to strangers.'

The man chuckles. 'Very good, Hichigo.'

Shiro-chan stiffens. How does he know his name?

Ichigo peers up curiously. 'Do we know you?'

'Oh, you won't remember me,' the man says cheerfully. 'You two were infants when I last saw you. But, really, I'm not a stranger, and I'm glad to see the no-talking rule isn't applying anyway.'

'Who are you?' Hichigo demands.

'I'm a friend of Masaki's,' the man says, holding out his hand to the twins. 'Sôsuke Aizen.'

'You know Mommy?' Ichigo asks.

'Oh yes, your mother and I were good friends.'

''Were'?' Hichigo echoes. 'Not any more?'

The man peers at the younger twin more closely. 'You're quite an intelligent little boy, aren't you?'

'I'm not little!' Hichigo huffs.

'Sorry,' Ichigo says sheepishly. 'Shiro-chan's sometimes not that good at being friendly.'

''Shiro-chan'? That's quite a cute nickname.'

Hichigo fumes and Ichigo smiles up at the man. 'What did you say your name was again?'

'Sôsuke Aizen. You can call me Uncle Sôsuke if you want. I'm sure your parents would be pleased to see me again.'

Hichigo is growing increasingly uncomfortable. Ichigo can be quite gullible at times and Hichigo does not trust this 'Sôsuke Aizen' at all. Never has he heard his parents speak the name before. He clutches onto his twin a little tighter, trying to subtly show Ichigo that he is feeling uneasy about this. Ichigo nudges him reassuringly

'Are you waiting for someone? I could drop you off back at your house if you want, I know where it is.'

_Ding ding ding ding!_ The alarm bells are definitely ringing through the younger twin's head now. He begins to panic. What if this man kidnaps them?

'Ichigo? Shiro-chan?'

Whimpering in relief, Hichigo gets to his feet, pulling Ichigo with him. 'Our dad's here,' he announces to Sôsuke Aizen. Not letting go of Ichigo's hand, he drags his twin over to where their father is standing with a blue umbrella, waiting for them. Hichigo raps his arms around his father, so very glad to see him, and Isshin ruffles his snowy white hair.

'Dad, there's a man over there who says he knows Mommy,' Ichigo announces, pointing at Sôsuke Aizen. 'He says we can call him 'Uncle Sôsuke'.'

Isshin freezes. Then, very slowly, he says,' Okay, I'll go and speak with him. Ichigo, Shiro-chan, you should go and wait in the car.'

* * *

'You weren't being very nice to that guy,' Ichigo scolds his twin as settles down in his seat in the back of the car, next to his twin. Hichigo, however, is far too focused staring out the window at his father and 'Uncle Sôsuke'. _Uncle S__ô__suke?! _Why on earth should the twins have to call this strange man that? They've only just met him!

'You were really rude to him!' Ichigo says.

'I don't like him,' Hichigo says stubbornly. 'You were way to quick to trust him. Oh, Dad's waving his arms around a lot. D'you think they're arguing?'

'Let me see,' Ichigo instructs, shuffling over to his twin and barging past him so he can see through the window too.

'Oh yeah, you're right,' Ichigo says, surprised. 'So, why don't you like him, Shiro-chan?'

There's a moment of silence, and then the younger twin says, very quietly, 'He scares me.'

Ichigo can't help it. He lets out a snicker. The mighty, strong Hichigo, who can protect him from kids three years older than them, is scared? This is quite priceless.

'Shut up!' Hichigo says, scowling, his pale cheeks flushing.

'It's okay, Shiro-chan,' Ichigo says, wrapping his arms around his brother for a big hug. 'This man isn't mean or anything. He was really nice to us. You don't have to be scared!'

'Get off me!' Hichigo mumbles, his voice muffled because his face is pressed up against his older twin brother. Ichigo laughs.

Hichigo turns to look out the window again. Both men are talking quite calmly to each other now, and he wonders if he is just imagining things about Sôsuke Aizen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Three**

* * *

'We're having someone over for dinner tonight,' Masaki announces as the four children sit down at the table eating their breakfast. All four look up curiously.

'Is Tensa coming over?' Ichigo asks hopefully.

'No, no!' Masaki says, laughing. 'He came over the other night! No, our guest tonight is an old friend of mine. You two boys have met him; his name is Sôsuke Aizen.'

Hichigo freezes, staring at his mother. He remembers that man from a couple of weeks ago on that rainy day, and he remembers not liking him one bit. Ichigo, on the other hand, looks very cheerful at the prospect of meeting Sôsuke again.

'He said we can call him 'Uncle Sôsuke'! Can we?'

'I don't want to,' Hichigo mutters. 'He's not our uncle.'

'Shiro-chan!' Masaki scolds. 'He happens to be a very dear friend of mine from when I was young.'

'How come we've never met him before?' Karin asks, her mouth full of food.

'Well, you see...' Masaki hesitates. 'He went away for a very long time. The last time he visited Ichigo and Shiro-chan were just two months old.'

'Wow,' Yuzu says, her eyes large. 'That was ages ago!'

'Hey! We're not that old!' Hichigo says indignantly. 'Where did he go to when he left?'

'He travelled the world, dear.'

'I wanna do that when I'm older!' Ichigo says.

'Maybe he'll tell you about the places he's been to,' Masaki says, smiling sweetly.

* * *

'So you've never met this guy before?' Tensa says when he meets the older twins at school, slightly later.

'We saw him about two weeks ago,' Hichigo answers, frowning. 'I didn't like him.'

'Shiro-chan's scared of him!' Ichigo says, giggling.

'Am not!' his younger twin shouts. Tensa smiles and says, 'Well, what don't you like about him?'

'He gives me the creeps.'

'Mommy said he's a nice guy,' Ichigo says, ignoring his brother. 'She said she's known him for ages.'

The three boys are sitting on a bench in the playground, watching as the other children play make-believe games. The three of them sometimes do that, but at the same time talking can also be as fun. The twins have known Tensa for most of their lives and he is like another brother to them.

'I don't want to see him again,' Hichigo mutters. 'I don't trust him.'

'Why?' Ichigo asks confusedly.

'I don't know. Everything about him creeps me out.'

'You're being stupid,' Ichigo says, cuffing his brother lightly on the head with his hand. The younger twin retaliates, and soon the two of them are rolling around in the gravel, play fighting.

'I wouldn't do that,' Tensa calls. 'The teacher told you off last time about that.'

* * *

'So, you must be Karin and Yuzu,' Sôsuke says as he spots the two little girls standing in the hallway, ready to invite him in. Yuzu grins and nods enthusiastically, but Karin smiles hesitantly; she has taken Hichigo's word for it and she's not quite sure she likes this man either. His smile seems... false. Like he's tricking them. Karin is only little but even she can tell that. This 'friendly' man in front of them seems almost too good to be true.

Isshin and Masaki come to the doorway to greet him and Karin makes her way into the living room where she finds her brothers curled up on the sofa, watching a movie. She climbs onto the sofa with them and presses herself against Hichigo, using him as a cushion. Yuzu comes through not two minutes later, and she too joins them on the sofa.

'I don't like him,' Karin whispers quietly, so only Hichigo can hear. 'He gives me the creeps, too. Why do you think he left for so long, Shiro-chan?'

Hichigo shrugs his shoulders. 'I don't know. Maybe he and Mom and Dad had a row or something.'

'That made him go away for eight years?' Karin murmurs.

'It must have been pretty bad. Maybe they're trying to make up now.'

'Shhh, I can't hear the movie,' Yuzu squeals.

Isshin appears in the doorway. 'Hey, boys, aren't you going to say hello to Uncle Sôsuke?'

'He's not our uncle,' Hichigo says flatly.

'Oh come on, he's like a brother to your mother. Come and say hello, you two.'

'Okay,' Ichigo says, bouncing off the sofa and racing out the room. Hichigo hesitantly follows his older twin into the kitchen were Sôsuke and Masaki are talking.

'Hello Uncle Sôsuke!' Ichigo says cheerfully. Sôsuke smiles down at the orange-haired child and says, 'It's good to see you again, Ichigo. Hi Shiro-chan! How are you both?'

Hichigo scowls. He doesn't like it when his family call him 'Shiro-chan', but even that seems okay next to when Sôsuke uses his nickname.

Masaki and Isshin let the two boys go back to the lounge to watch the movie with their sisters. When they're sitting comfortably again Ichigo says, 'Why were you being so rude to Uncle Sôsuke?'

Hichigo frowns. 'I just don't trust him. We hardly know him and he wants us to treat him like an uncle.'

'I like him,' Yuzu pipes up. 'He smiles nicely.'

Karin stays silent, knowing that she sill always agree with Hichigo on this topic.


	4. Chapter 4

**Four**

* * *

'Ichigo,' Yuzu moans. 'Ichigo, make them stop fighting.'

Ichigo wipes the tears out of his eyes. 'Karin... Yuzu...'

The three of them are pressed up against eachother on the sofa, hearing Isshin and Hichigo yelling at eachother in the kitchen. The police are here and they can hear Masaki sobbing. It's been a few months since they have met Uncle Sôsuke, and since then, Hichigo has been getting into more and more fights.

'Ichigo, what happened?' Karin whispers.

The nine-year-old swallows down the lump in his throat. 'There... was an accident... in the park...'

* * *

_They come out of nowhere- a group of twelve-year-olds wearing hoodies, leering at Ichigo and Hichigo. The twins are on the swings, Ichigo twisting the chains and spinning around, not really concentrating on anything in particular, while Hichigo keeps swinging higher and higher, laughing in delight._

_ The older boys come over to the swings, having heard that the little albino boy is quite a good fighter for his age. He has to be, because he must get a load of crap about his appearance, his orange-haired twin too._

_ One of the older boys shouts, 'Hey! Mutants!'_

_ Ichigo looks up and Hichigo leaps off the swing, landing quite gracefully on the grass a few feet away. Both children stare at the boys, and Ichigo finally says, 'What did you call us?'_

_ 'What? Are you deaf, Carrot-Top?' the same boy taunts. He's one to taunt- he has flaming red hair that is quite long pulled back in a pony tail, and a white bandana. He must be the ringleader of the group._

_ Hichigo starts forward, a furious expression on his face, but Ichigo steps in front of him, holding out his arm. Their parents have told Hichigo off for fighting recently and Ichigo doesn't want his twin to get into any more trouble. Besides, he wants to prove himself, to show that he doesn't need his younger twin to protect him._

_ 'I'll handle this,' he whispers._

_ 'Ooh!' the boys say, laughing and jeering as Ichigo approaches them. The orange-haired boy puts on a brave face and clenches his fists. The redhead grins and also moves forwards. The next thing he knows, Ichigo is flying through the air and landing on his back, winded, because of a punch to the face. His eyes fill with tears but he desperately tries not to cry despite the pain._

_ 'Whoa, Renji!' the boys laugh. 'Good one!' They all launch themselves forwards and press Ichigo to the ground, punching and kicking him. Ichigo can only scream and scream- he has never, ever felt pain like this._

_ -Make it stop-_

_ -please make it stop-_

_ Then it stops._

_ 'Shi-Shiro-chan?' Ichigo stammers._

_ The red-haired boy screeches, clutching the back of his head, then he collapses on the ground, unconscious. Hichigo stands behind him, a wooden plank in his hand, glaring daggers at the older boys. The next scene is a blur to Ichigo. He can see his twin spining around, fighting as hard as he can to protect Ichigo. When Ichigo finally does have the strenth to get up, he can see that the boys are all unconscious, and Hichigo is on his knees, bending over, covered in blood._

_ But not all of it is his blood._

_ 'Shiro-chan...?'_

_ Hichigo tries to get to his feet but instead falls down again, letting out a small whimper._

_ 'Shiro-chan, did you... did you knock them all out?'_

_ 'Yeah...' Hichigo mutters. 'Ow...'_

* * *

'Do you have any idea what you have done?' Isshin thunders, glaring down at his son.

'They attacked Ichigo!' the albino protests. 'What was I supposed to do?! He was outnumbered!'

'Protecting your brother was a very noble cause, young man, but you have seriously injured one of them,' the police officer says, shaking his head in frustration. 'Concussion... he's in hospital right now.'

Masaki bows her head sadly. 'Hichigo is very sorry, officer. We can sure you, this won't happen again.'

'Okay, here's what we're going to do: you'll get let off this time, but you need to right formal letters of apology to everyone involved, you got that, kid?'

'And are they gonna say sorry for what they did to Ichigo?' Hichigo demands.

The officer bites his lip. This child in front of him is one of the bravest and most protective young offenders he has ever seen.

When the police officer leaves, Isshin is extrememly angry and is going to shout when Masaki stops him. She proposes that they decide Hichigo's punishment and promptly sends him to the lounge. Hichigo is fuming at the injustice of it all. Ichigo looks up sadly when his twin comes in.

'What's going to happen?'

'They're working on a punishment.'

Karin and Yuzu pat on an empty spot on the couch between them, urging him to sit down. Hichigo moves to come and sit next to them and they lean up against him. Ichigo jumps off the sofa and walks towards the kitchen, guilt flaring up inside him.

'Ichigo, not now,' his father growls when the nine-year-old enters the room. Ichigo swallows and says, 'Please don't be angry with him. It's my fault- I started it. I thought if I were the one to fight them, Shiro-chan wouldn't get into trouble. I didn't know they would... overpower me and he'd have to save me...'

'Oh, Ichigo,' Masaki whispers, pulling the child closer. Ichigo hugs her as tears roll down his cheeks.

'I know, son, but knocking them all out was going a bit too far,' Isshin says softly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Would be nice if someone actually reviewed... just a suggestion...**

* * *

**Five**

* * *

The relationship between Hichigo and his parents has gone from bad to worse.

It pains Ichigo, Yuzu and Karin to see their family like this, reduced to yelling every night at each other Hichigo refuses to like Uncle Sôsuke. He feels that there is something wrong with that man, and this greatly saddens Masaki and angers Isshin. It doesn't help that Sôsuke can be quite condescending with Hichigo.

'What day is the maths test on, Shiro-chan?' Ichigo asks at the breakfast table one morning, raising his voice over the sound of the heavy rain outside.

'Um... June the twenty-first, I think.'

'How many days have we got left to revise?'

'Uh, let's see... well, today's June the seventeenth, so... four days.'

Ichigo makes a 'tsk' noise. 'That's not long at all!' he complains.

'Well, as long as you revise instead of get into a load of fights unlike some people, you should be okay,' Isshin says, coming into the kitchen.

Hichigo jumps off his chair and walks out the room.

Ichigo sighs.

* * *

'Why are you always fighting with Mom and Dad these days?' Ichigo demands as they enter the dōjō for their karate lesson.

Hichigo growls in frustration. 'They don't understand. Besides, most kids have bad relationships with their parents as they get older. Apparently we're going to absolutely hate them when we become teenagers. That's what Tatsuki said.'

'What would Tatsuki know? She's the same age as us!'

'I know a lot more than you guys!' Tatsuki says, appearing out of nowhere, her fist making contact with Hichigo's face. He falls onto his backside, clutching his face. Tatsuki smirks and says, 'Let your guard down!'

Ichigo laughs. 'Suki-chan!'

The tomboy grins at him. 'The 'special kid' can beat up twelve-year-olds but easily gets owned by a girl. Must be tough-going, Shiro-chan.'

'Tatsuki,' the albino growls. 'I swear I'm gonna kick your ass today!'

'Isn't that cowardly, picking a fight with a girl?' Ichigo asks.

'Fine coming from the guy who's never beaten me once,' Tatsuki says coolly.

'Hey!' Ichigo cries indignantly. 'I will win one day!'

'Yeah yeah, whatever!' Tatsuki laughs, helping Shiro-chan up. He glares at her for a second before deciding that it doesn't matter. He'll beat her at a match later on, and then he'll be the one laughing.

* * *

Hichigo never loses fights with the other children at the dōjō anymore, as the ones he fights with are all in his age group. Granted, Tatsuki always puts up a good fight but even she is no match for him anymore. Word of him beating up that group of twelve-year-olds lead by the redhead Renji leaked out somehow, but now all of the local kids are scared of him. His looks have always disturbed other children but now his reputation is frightening too.

Hichigo sits in one of the corners, not exactly minding sitting with other children, it's more the fact that most of them don't want to come near him. Ichigo is actually fighting Tatsuki right now, determined to beat her for the first time. His younger twin isn't really watching. He's actually quite upset about his family issues, just too proud to admit it. He blames Sôsuke Aizen. That'll always be the person he blames. His hatred is irrational, but he completely despises everything about that man.

'SHIRO-CHAN!' comes an excited squeal. He looks up to see Ichigo standing on the mat above Tatsuki, who is panting on the ground.

'I BEAT HER!' he shouts joyfully. 'I WON!'

His twin plasters a huge smile onto his face. 'About time.'

'You got lucky,' Tatsuki grumbles as she sits up. 'Damn... it's one thing when one of the Kurosaki twins constantly beats me... it's just plain embarrassing when the other one finally learns how to win.'

Ichigo is beaming. Hichigo grins and says, 'Suck up to it, _Suki-chan_.'

Tatsuki's eyes flash dangerously. 'You're asking for it, Hichigo.'

'About time someone forgets to call me my infuriating nickname.'

'If it's so infuriating then maybe I'll carry on using it, _Shiro-chan_.'

'Is that so, _Suki-chan_?'

'You two are like an old married couple!' Ichigo giggles. 'You're so meant for each other!'

'What?' Tatsuki and Hichigo say in unison. 'No!'

* * *

'What the hell?!' Hichigo shouts as a truck appears out of nowhere and the water from the puddle it drove through splashes all over him and his twin.

'Oh no!' Masaki cries. 'That mean old truck! Shiro-chan, what have I told you about saying bad words?'

'Oh, come on,' Hichigo mutters under his breath.

'I'm sorry, you two,' Masaki says gently, pulling a cloth out of her pocket and bending down to wipe the boys' faces dry. It doesn't do much good because of the rain.

'Why don't you let _Mommy_ switch sides with you?' Hichigo says sarcastically to his brother as he notices tears beginning to appear in Ichigo's eyes.

'Hichigo!' Masaki scolds. 'Don't be mean!'

'But it's okay when he laughed at me when Sôsuke made fun of me in front of everyone?' Hichigo says furiously.

''Snow White' was a pretty funny one, though, you have to admit,' Ichigo says meekly.

'You were very rude to Uncle Sôsuke,' Masaki says disapprovingly 'Your choice of language was vile. I'm still very disappointed about that, Hichigo.'

'That's it!' Hichigo hisses, his eyes stinging with tears that he will never ever let fall. Who cares if he called Sôsuke a toss-piece? The repulsive man was asking for it.

He quickens his pace into a run so that he can be left alone, but this seems ineffective as he can see someone else walking their way. He doesn't want to be around people. He has to get away.

He leaps over the fence on his left and down onto the bank beside the river. Where can he go? He's a strong swimmer but despite that he'd probably drown as it's swollen because of all the rain. Why would he jump in anyway? He's not bloody suicidal.

'Shiro-chan, no!' his mother shouts. He completely ignores her and continues to run down the grass. He hears a dull thump behind him and turns to see his older twin leaping off the fence to pelt after him, Masaki not far behind.

He slips and falls in a puddle and in an instant his twin has caught up and is wrestling him to the ground. He can't understand- Ichigo is weaker than he is so why is he being overpowered by the orange-haired boy? Is it because he is fighting _himself_ so hard to keep himself from crying?

'Shiro-chan- no-' Ichigo grunts.

'Ichigo- Shiro-chan- no!' they hear their mother scream.

She reaches them and they all start wrestling each other, the haze from the rain confusing their senses so they cannot see properly.

Something goes horribly wrong. Hichigo hears his mother shriek and a few seconds later he catches a glimpse of something catching the light off a beam from the front of a car. A mirror, perhaps? What would a mirror be doing on the river bank? Hichigo then notices that both his brother and his mother have stopped struggling. He then feels the pain in his head which he had been ignoring during the fight, and without any more distractions he passes out.

* * *

He could have only been unconscious for a few minutes because when he opens his eyes the rain is still falling. He's on his back, pressed up against his brother with his mother sprawled on top.

'Hey... Mom... Ichigo... wake up...'

Hichigo manages to crawl out from underneath Masaki and he begins to shake his brother.

'Ichigo,' he says forcefully. 'Wake. Up. Now.'

His older twin doesn't move.

Hichigo panics, considering the possibilities for a second, before ruling them out. He can't be... _Ichigo just can't be..._

The orange-haired boy moans, and a wave of relief washes over Hichigo. Carefully he rests his twin's head on his lap and turns to his mother.

'You too, Mom,' he commands softly. 'You both need to wake up.'

He receives no groan from Masaki. He nudges her gently, appalled for how he treated her earlier, and that's when he notices...

Oh no.

Oh please-

_ (No)_

The blood.

All the blood.

And...

The glass shard.

In his hand.

* * *

_ … no..._


	6. Chapter 6

**Six**

* * *

'No! No, I don't belong here!' Hichigo screams. 'No!'

Passers-by spotted the twins and their dead mother not long after the incident. The police found Ichigo only just regaining consciousness, Masaki with a stab wound in her back and Hichigo just sitting there, in shock. Surrounded by sharp glass.

Guess who they've considering to be the prime suspect for the murder of Masaki Kurosaki?

Imprisoned in a cell at the nearest prison, Hichigo refuses to calm down. He throws himself at the walls in a desperate attempt to get out. After about twenty minutes he gives up and curls up on the little bed in the corner.

'M-mom!' he sobs. 'You c-c-c-can't be d-d-dead... Mom... I didn't d-do it... I d-d-didn't do it... Ichig-g-go... it wasn't m-m-m-me...'

_It can't have been... it can't have been..._

.

* * *

The police are able to conclude who they think is guilty quite quickly.

Hichigo is, without a doubt, a troubled child. From reports, he is very strong, and can be extremely violent. After all, he was able to take out a group of children three years older than him, and one had to be taken to hospital. This tells the police that Hichigo is undeniably dangerous. Then they take a look at his relationship with his family, to see whether he comes from a troubled background. Many neighbours that are asked say that the Kurosaki family are fun and joyful, but there is one child who stands out slightly. The four children are all very close, but the one child in particular has a fragile relationship with his parents. People can often hear them yelling at each other when walking by the streets. Other children are scared of Hichigo. They stay away from him in school, at the dōjō, anywhere he goes.

That, apparently, is enough evidence.

* * *

'Ichigo,' Isshin says as they enter the house after all the fuss at the police station (where Hichigo has to stay). 'Listen to me- don't tell your sisters what happened. Leave it to me.'

'B-but what ab-b-bout Shi-Shiro-chan?' the nine-year-old asks, looking up at his father, his eyes full of tears.

Isshin's eyes also swim with tears that threaten to spill.

'Just leave it to me,' he replies quietly.

Ichigo stumbles up to his bedroom and collapses on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably His head is hurting terribly and he feels very sick. His mother is... Masaki is...

'No...' Ichigo moans. 'No... no... no... _Mommy..._'

At once, he hears Yuzu's scream from downstairs, and Karin howling, 'NO!'. Isshin must have broken the terrible news to them. Ichigo finds he can't care. He is far too rapped up in his own misery. All he wants is for Masaki and Hichigo to walk through his bedroom door right now. For Masaki to run up to him and hug him and make everything okay. For Hichigo to make him feel better in his own way, by saying harsh words, but ones that will make the older twin feel stronger, ones that will make him forget the sadness.

Nobody comes through the door.

Ichigo turns his head ever so slightly to peer at his brother's bed. The blue sheets are still tangled because Hichigo never bothered to make his bed this morning.

'Shiro-chan,' Ichigo whispers. 'Please c-c-c-come b-back.'

.

* * *

Hichigo turns his head at the sound of the cell door being opened. He is pelting towards it before his brain has even registered how reckless that is. Anything to get out... he has to get _out_...

He slams into a grown man and a cold voice says, 'Stay where you are.'

'Let me out!' the nine-year-old shrieks. 'LET ME OUT!'

The man spins him around and the next thing he feels is cold metal being pressed against his wrists and he can no longer move his hands away from each other The man drags him over to a metal bar in the wall near the bed and Hichigo hears chains rattling as they are connected to the metal bar.

The man (a tall but ageing man with silvery hair) goes to stand by the door and another one walks in, this one a man with dark brown skin and an afro. The newcomer introduces himself as Inspector Something-Or-Other (Hichigo doesn't pay attention, he's far too intent on trying to figure out how to escape). A table, two chairs and a recorder are brought in, and as the chain extends that far, Hichigo is asked to sit. He glares at the inspector, wondering when these people will realise he's innocent.

'We have interviewed your twin, and, understandably, he was most distraught and wasn't able to give us the full story of what happened,' the inspector says, switching the recording device on. He once again introduces himself, also stating the time and date, the time the 'incident' took place and the name of the subject they are interviewing.

Them come the questions.

'Ichigo Kurosaki was able to tell us that you had a small disagreement with your mother, and that you ran off and he and your mother followed onto the riverbank. Is this true?'

Ichigo, the idiot! He's practically signed Hichigo's fate by saying that! A small disagreement that could lead into the loss of control, resulting in a murder; that's how the police will see it. Well, lying now will only result in a load of fuss. Might as well be honest.

Hichigo nods stiffly.

'Could you please speak for the recording?' the inspector says in an irritated voice.

'Yes,' Hichigo whispers. 'Yeah, it's true.'

'You fell over on the ground and your brother caught up with you, with your mother not far behind. Is this true?'

_ Always wanting to specify every single damn detail, eh? Great. Looks like I'm gonna be here all day, _Hichigo thinks angrily.

'Yeah, that happened,' he mutters.

'And at that point, you began to try and fight them both?'

'Yes.'

'Hichigo Kurosaki, did you murder your mother, Masaki Kurosaki?'

'No!' he protests immediately. He knows they were trying to catch him off-guard, but did he answer too soon? Did it sound believable? Does it even matter? After all, he's innocent, and surely they'll realise that?

'A large amount of glass was found at the crime seen, and one particular sharp piece was found next to you, covered in blood. That piece was used to kill Masaki Kurosaki. I'll ask you again: did you kill Masaki Kurosaki?'

'No!' Hichigo whimpers in reply. Why do they insist on asking him that question. _I didn't do it!_ he thinks furiously.

'All the evidence points towards it being you.'

'It wasn't me!'

'Do you know who did it?'

'… N-no.'

'Can you please explain what exactly happened after you fell over?'

'Yeah,' Hichigo mutters feebly. 'I couldn't really see through the rain, I just know I was trying to escape them and they wouldn't let me. And then...' he draws a shaky breath, '… I heard Mom cry out and I saw something flash, like a mirror or something... or glass. Then I...'

'Lost consciousness,' the inspector finishes. 'Very well. We'll wrap it up for today.' He reaches over, murmurs a few more things to finish it off then switches the recorder off.

.

One month later, it's all over.

The trial is far from fair. Ichigo, the one person who might have been able to defend his brother, wasn't even allowed to come, and nor were Karin and Yuzu. Isshin, obviously, is there, and he tells the judge that despite the fact that his son can be quite violent, he hardly ever fights without a reason. The incident with the older boys was to protect his older twin.

This doesn't help.

The rain washed away any way of finding fingerprints on the glass, but the evidence points towards Hichigo anyway. He doesn't even listen to the crime he has been accused of, not bothering to pay attention at his trial. He's far too distraught, unable to concentrate.

He only registers one word, right at the very end.

'Guilty.'


	7. Chapter 7

**Guess what guys?! I managed to throw three very awesome characters into this story, who you will get to meet in this very chapter!**

**Aren't I nice?!**

* * *

**Seven**

* * *

Ichigo stays in his bedroom for a whole week.

It's so unsettling for Ichigo to turn his head ever so slightly from the bed he's lying on, and stare at the seemingly identical bed, differing only in colour. The red sheets of Hichigo's bed are made up and unslept in, so different from how he often leaves them, because he rarely makes his bed. Rarely _made_ his bed.

_He's gone now. But... he'll come back... he _has_ to._

Isshin instructed Ichigo not to talk about his twin to Karin and Yuzu. Shiro-chan has been found guilty of murder, and as far as practically everyone is concerned, he _did_ kill Masaki. But Isshin doesn't want the two younger children to know that their brother committed a murder. The albino child will be stuck in the place they've taken him for a long, long time.

Isshin has told them that Hichigo died too.

.

* * *

Hichigo doesn't know how many days have gone by.

They drugged him and while he was still conscious and carried him into a van. He kept slipping in and out of dreams, visions, replaying terrible scenes and memories alike within his confused mind. Sometimes he has enough energy to cry out, even to feel a lump in his throat as tears stream down his face as he sobs for his family, other times he can only lie there and wait for the nightmares to come back.

_Please... it wasn't me... it can't have been me..._

When they arrive, Hichigo is placed in a bed while he is still asleep. He wakes up a few times but everything he sees and hears make no sense. At one point, he hears a voice whispering, 'It's true... he really is albino... whoa, I've never seen one before... what about you, Ulqui?'

'We should leave, Nel,' says a much quieter, male voice. 'If we get caught...'

After that, he hears no one.

When he finally, properly, wakes up, the people bring him food, and they accompany him to the bathroom, but aside from that he never leaves the room. They sometimes ask him if he wants to join the other kids, because Hichigo has managed to work out that this is some sort of asylum for children, mostly teens, making him probably the youngest here. But he doesn't want to leave. He spends his day doing nothing except crouch on his bed with his face pressed against his knees, which are pulled up to his chest. He barely moves and he doesn't eat a great amount. Much to the surprise of the doctors working here, Hichigo doesn't cry. He has no tears left to spare, as far as he's concerned. He can't even remember the last time he actually spoke, and sometimes he wonders if his voice still works, but he never bothers to try it out. He has become an empty shell, because he finds that works best. His way to deal with the pain. If he becomes hollow.

Hollow. His new name. Works better than Hichigo.

One day, he wakes up from the usual nightmare, but this time he really is the murderer, the glass shard in his hand, stained with blood. He gasps and almost cries, but catches himself just in time. He pulls himself in his usual position and begins to rock back and forth in the hope of trying to shake the false memory. Except that he's not even sure it's false anymore.

'Wasn't me,' he croaks, immediately appalled by what his voice now sounds like, having not been used in however long it has been. He's not sure, anymore.

'I love you. I didn't kill you.'

He bites his lip, very hard.

'I didn't kill anyone,' he hisses.

'Whoa... you're in here 'cause you _killed_ someone?!'

Hollow jumps in alarm, banging his head against the wall. Before him is a boy, about two or three years older, with startling blue hair. Like Hollow, he has been given the simple white shirt and jeans to wear, evidently what kids here have to wear.

'How did you get in?!' Hollow growls.

The boy shrugs. 'Ulquiorra let me in. He's good with unlocking doors. You met him yet?'

Hollow shakes his head. 'You're the first other kid I've met.'

'Seriously? You've been here for, like, a month! Are they keeping ya locked up 'cause you did someone in?'

The albino feels fury coursing through him. 'I didn't kill anyone!' he snarls.

To his surprise, the other boy laughs, and raises his hands in defence. 'Okay, okay, whatever ya say! I'm Grimmjow, by the way. Hichigo, right?'

'Hollow,' the younger boy corrects. 'I don't go by Hichigo anymore.'

'Hollow? That's kinda weird.'

'It helps me deal with things.'

'Uh... okay, well, are you actually allowed outta this room?' Grimmjow asks.

'Yeah, they said I could, but I... I never wanted to.'

'Why? Ya scared of the other kids? 'Cause, to be fair, until you came, Ulqui was the youngest here, then Nel, then me, but most of the kids are about fifteen or sixteen, 'cause it's mainly for teens...'

Grimmjow continues to chat away but Hollow tunes out, now contemplating the situation he finds himself in. Perhaps... he has found a new friend. Dare he hope? Grimmjow came to come and meet him, and he seems pretty friendly, but he must be here in this asylum for _something_. Hollow is just wondering whether it would be inappropriate to ask, when he hears the girl's voice he heard a few weeks ago at the door.

'Grimmjow! What are you doing?'

'Oh hey Nel!' Grimmjow greets her. 'Nel, meet Hollow. Hollow, this is Nelliel Tu Odelchwanck.'

Nelliel Tu Odelchwanck winces. 'Grimmjow! Did you have to use my full name, it sucks! Why couldn't you just introduce me as Nel?!'

Grimmjow grins evilly. 'That's your name, isn't it?'

Nel walks forwards into the room so Hollow can see her properly. She is a little bit younger than Grimmjow, but still older than Hollow, with short, curly, odd green hair and large hazel eyes. A scar is running down her forehead and it looks like it must have been a painful wound at the time.

'Nice to meet you, Hollow,' Nel says cheerfully, holding out her hand for him to shake, which he does. 'Ulquiorra and I have seen you before, we snuck in here when you first came but you were drugged and half-asleep, so you probably don't remember me. Word of advice: completely ignore Grimmjow from here on out because he is, without question, the world's biggest idiot.'

'Hey!' Grimmjow protests.

Nel smiles, and Hollow feels an unfamiliar tugging sensation on the corners of his mouth. He realises that he's actually beginning to smile. When was the last time that happened?

'Hey, Nel, Grimmjow? Someone will be coming soon- we should go.'

'Ulqui- come in here and say hi to Hollow!' Nel calls, spinning around to face the small, dark haired boy of about the same age as her standing in the doorway, watching them with large, sad-looking green eyes. Like Hollow, he is extremely pale, but 'Ulqui' is not an albino. The boy blinks and then comes forwards slowly, watching Hollow warily. He seems a little scared, and Hollow briefly wonders whether he's here for nerves or something. Wouldn't be completely abnormal, in this place.

'Hollow, this is Ulqui-chan!' Nel says cheerfully, and the boy's eyes narrow in irritation.

'Trash,' he mutters. 'I told you not to call me that.'

Hollow feels a clenching sensation in his chest, and a lump forms in his throat, thinking of an old nickname that he was once called that was rather similar. He swallows down the lump in his throat but he has no reason to worry about having to hold back tears, because... because...

Hichigo Kurosaki- no, _Hollow-_ cannot cry any more.

.

Grimmjow, Nel and Ulquiorra are finally able to convince Hollow to leave his room and venture into the rest of the asylum.

Well, Nel does most of the convincing, with Grimmjow helping out here and there. Ulquiorra remains silent, only looking at Hollow with a sort of knowing expression reflecting in his emerald green eyes, as if he actually understands what Hollow is feeling and thinking.

That, being emptiness.

Hollow has removed all emotions and feelings, discarded them so that he can let go of his past. He's not doing this because he wants to move on and embrace a future in an asylum, no, he simply doesn't care any more. Ulquiorra seems to understand that, and Hollow begins to wonder whether Ulquiorra doesn't care about his past either.

Kids here are allowed to walk around, but there are a lot of guards spread out all over the place, so hardly anywhere is private. Nel explains that this is because there has always been cases of violence and suicide attempts in the past. According to her, it is a weekend so the kids are pretty much free to whatever they want, but during the week, special tutors come in to educate them.

As he enters the main hall where the kids eat their lunch, Grimmjow asks, 'So who did ya kill?'

'Grimmjow!' Nel scolds immediately, looking rather frightened because she has obviously anticipated this will be a sore spot for Hollow. The albino shrugs as if he couldn't give a damn, however, and says, 'No one. Wasn't me.'

'So ya got framed?'

'Yeah.'

'So you haven't really ever done anything wrong?'

'I got into fights a lot. They held that against me.'

'Ah, well, you're not the only one who has a tough time getting by,' Grimmjow says thoughtfully. 'I'm guessing everyone gave ya a load of crap 'cause you're albino?'

'You don't know the half of it.'

'Oh, believe me, we do,' Nel says with a knowing smile. 'How many people do you know with natural green or blue hair?'

'You two are the first.'

'And you're the first albino I've ever seen,' Nel says.

'I didn't even know people could have natural blue or green hair,' Hollow admits.

'Yeah, well, I didn't know it was possible to get a sprout stuck up each nostril but from personal experience, I now know it is,' Grimmjow states, grinning.

'Ew! Grimmjow!' Nel says, laughing.

'And nobody knew it was possible for a ten-year-old to rob a bank but I proved them wrong a year ago,' Ulquiorra pipes up, faint traces of humour glinting in his eyes.

Hollow truly is smiling now. These three people, Grimmjow, Nel and Ulquiorra, are obviously here for certain reasons (robbing a bank certainly seems like a good one) but at the end of the day, they're just kids like him. Different from other children, but still kids.

They're his new friends, and for the first time in a long time, Hollow feels hopeful.

.

* * *

**When I was writing this chapter and imagining Hichigo isolating himself from the rest of the world, I kept picturing Crona off Soul Eater, which is funny 'cause Crona and Hichigo are nothing alike. Although... the part where he mentioned that he goes by 'Hollow' because it 'helps him deal with things'...**

**On another note, if any of you guys could check out my new story, _Fill The Hole_, I'd really appreciate it. It's IchiRuki and IshiHime, and it's about Orihime and Renji trying to come to terms with Ichigo and Rukia's relationship.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Eight**

* * *

Ichigo crouches down beside the river, growing increasingly sad as he gazes at the spot where... where it happened. It was the last time he ever saw both his mother and his twin, because after that, Hichigo was dragged away to the police station and, after the trial, he was taken off to some mental institute somewhere far away.

_Did Shiro-chan really...? I mean... he wasn't getting along with Mom and Dad at the time, but surely he couldn't have... could he...?_

'Hey... Ichigo,' comes a familiar voice who he hasn't heard in a while from behind him, interrupting his thoughts. He turns around slowly.

'Hey, Tatsuki,' he says in an empty voice.

The tomboy is not alone. With her is a nervous looking girl with short orange hair, slightly darker than Ichigo's, wearing a flowery yellow dress. Tatsuki herself is in jeans, as usual.

'Listen... I heard what happened to your Mom and Hichigo... I'm really sorry.'

_I guess you've been told what everyone else has: that Shiro-chan died too._

'Thanks, Tatsuki,' Ichigo says in a choking voice. He gives her a genuine smile, because he's so grateful that Tatsuki can still be there for him in a time of grief.

'This is Orihime Inoue,' Tatsuki introduces. 'Orihime, this is Ichigo Kurosaki. You know, the one I told you I met at the dôjô when I was four?'

'Nice to meet you,' Orihime says with a kind smile, a small blush appearing on her face which Ichigo doesn't understand.

'I remember that day,' Ichigo muses, turning back to Tatsuki. 'You beat me with just one punch, then I started to cry.'

Tatsuki grins. 'Yeah, and then... and then Shiro-chan came over and helped you up, then challenged me.'

Although Ichigo feels a ripping sensation in his chest, he is able to continue. 'Neither of you won. My mom managed to pick us up before you could finish your fight.'

Orihime giggles, and Tatsuki smiles proudly. 'He never did beat me until we were six.'

'Yeah, but you hardly ever beat him, either,' Ichigo points out, also grinning.

'Shiro-chan never let me,' Tatsuki grumbles.

''Shiro-chan'?' Orihime says with a laugh.

'Yep. That was the nickname we gave him,' Ichigo chuckles. 'He used to hate it... so of course we carried on using it.'

Somehow, talking about this does not feel worse but is instead taking the pressure off Ichigo. He has so many good memories of Shiro-chan and Masaki that to forget about them because of the possibility of them being painful would actually make it worse.

Besides, remembering them is the only way he'll see them.

Because he'll never get to see either of them again.

.

* * *

'Good morning, Hollow!' Nel says cheerfully, bounding over as Hollow enters the main hall for breakfast. 'Come and eat over here with me and Grimmjow and Ulqui-chan!'

'I told you not to call me that, trash,' Ulquiorra calls.

'Ah, loosen up, Ulqui,' Grimmjow says, grinning. Ulquiorra turns to face the blue-haired kid and gives him a death glare with his emerald green eyes, shutting Grimmjow's laughing up in an instant. Hollow smiles at this and follows Nel over to the table. It's just the four of them, over in the corner, and Hollow can see that someone has already been in the dinner queue to get cereal for him.

'I hope you like coco pops!' Nel says happily.

'Yeah, they're my favourite,' Hollow replies, sitting next to Grimmjow and digging in to his food.

'So, uh... what exactly do we do here during the day?' he asks after about five or six mouthfuls.

'Well, we have lessons,' Grimmjow answers, 'because apparently we can't 'miss out on our education'. Ulqui's supposed to give you the time table-'

'Here,' Ulquiorra says, sliding a rectangular piece of paper across the table to Hollow.

'Thanks.' Hollow looks down at it to see what he's got today. 'Um... what day is it?'

'Tuesday,' Nel answers.

** _Tuesday-_**

** 8:00 AM- Breakfast**

** 8:30 AM- Performing Arts**

** 9:30 AM- Physical Education**

** 10:30 AM- Break**

** 11:00 AM- Japanese Language**

** 12:00 PM- Lunch**

** 12:30 PM- Citizenship**

** 1:30 PM- Social Economics**

** 2:30 PM- Physics**

** 3:30 PM- Free**

** 5:30 PM- Discussion**

** 6:00 PM- Dinner**

** 7:00 PM- Free**

** 10:00 PM- Bed**

'It's actually not that bad,' Grimmjow says, chewing on his toast. 'You don't get homework or detentions, which is cool.'

'What does it mean by 'Discussion'?' Hollow asks.

'We basically just find a topic in the news or whatever and have a debate about it, or we just talk,' Nel explains. 'I quite like it- right now we're doing about global warming and the impact human beings have on the environment-'

'Bo-ring,' Grimmjow says in a sing-song voice.

'Don't be rude, Grimmjow,' Ulquiorra scolds.

'Do I have the same lessons as you guys?' Hollow asks.

'Let's see,' Nel says, pulling out her crumpled up timetable from her pocket and comparing it with Hollow's. 'Yeah, you've got Performing Arts with me, that's basically just Art, Drama and Music... You'll be with Grimmjow and Ulquiorra for PE 'cause they separate us by gender...'

'You're with me for Japanese,' Ulquiorra pipes up.

'And me for Citizen,' Nel continues. 'We're all in Social Economics and Grimmjow has Physics with you. Everyone does Discussion together, so that wraps it up for today.'

'Okay then,' Hollow says, feeling cheerful at the thought that he'll be with his new friends. Then another thought occurs to him. 'Hey, Nel, do we ever get visits from our families?'

Nel's smile fades slightly. 'Well, um... we're all in here for crimes, right? So a lot of the kids here either have unstable families that are likely to be in jail or they don't have families. There are a couple, like Nnoitora for instance, who have really reach families and who visit every so often, but apart from that, no.'

'Well, my family is nothing like that,' Hollow says. 'They'll know I'm innocent, so I bet they'll come and visit me real soon.'

.

* * *

Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu are sitting on the couch in the living room. The television is on but nobody is actually watching it. Yuzu has been crying again but she's now trying to act cheerful Karin no longer cries, but instead maintains quite a cool personality. As for Ichigo... the frown that has been on his face for a while will not disappear.

There is a knock on the door and Isshin answers.

It's Uncle Sôsuke.

He was at the trial and Masaki's funeral but aside from that, the Kurosaki family have hardly seen him since the incident. He walks into the living room, ready to offer his consolation to the grieving family.

Karin doesn't even look at him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Nine**

* * *

It's been one year since June the seventeenth, the last day he saw his siblings, and Hollow has gotten used to his new home.

Grimmjow, Nel and Ulquiorra are about the best friends he could ask for. Over the months spent in the institute he gradually learns how they came to be in this place.

Grimmjow ran away from each and every foster home he was placed in, starting at age four, eleven times in total. He stayed alive by robbing and occasionally fighting other homeless people with whatever weapon he could find. In his trial, like Hollow, he was deemed unstable and insane, and so he was placed in the asylum.

Nel lost her entire family to a gang who broke into her home. This, apparently, drove her insane, too, and she seriously wounded one of the gang members. After that, she went out of her way to get revenge on all of them. She herself had hidden in a cupboard when they killed her family, and after that she tried tracking them down in vengeance. The court never found the gang members guilty, but they sent Nel to the asylum because she was 'crazy'.

Ulquiorra's story is a very peculiar. He woke up on the streets when he was seven years old with amnesia. He therefore was never taught what was right and what was wrong, and this is why he's very good at not portraying any emotions. He soon learnt that the only way he could survive would be by stealing, similar to Grimmjow's situation, and he managed to rob many places (including a bank) before he was finally caught. Because he had no family (and no apparent past) the authorities decided to send him here as he, like all the others, was deemed unfit to lead a normal life.

But none of them have ever killed someone.

_Neither did I. I can't have... but it's not as if that even matters now anyway... I... that's the past now... it might as well be forgotten._

'Hey, Nel, what's the date today?'

'Hm?' Nel says, looking up from the drawing of a tree she's been concentrating on for the last ten minutes. Both she and Hollow are sitting in their Performing Arts class right now. 'The date? Uh... the sixteenth, I think.'

'The sixteenth of June...' Hollow murmurs. 'So... it's tomorrow...'

'What is?'

'Oh... nothing...'

'Is it your birthday?'

'No... that's July the fifteenth.'

'Okay, I'll try to remember that.'

.

* * *

The next morning Hollow stays in his room, not wanting to leave. The staff at the institute work out why he doesn't want to come out today from looking at Hollow's paperwork. After all, today is June the seventeenth, one year from the day he killed his mother. The staff have been told that he is the culprit, but the chances are it was an accident and he didn't mean to stab her. So, out of consideration, they let him stay in his room.

That's not good enough for his three friends, though.

'Hollow! Open up!'

'What's wrong?'

'Hollow?'

'I... I'm fine, guys. I just... I'm not feeling very well today... that's all!'

'Are you sure?' comes Nel's worried voice.

Hollow, who is sitting on the end of his bed, pressed up against the corner of the room, hugs his legs closer to his chest and whispers in a voice barely audible from outside the door, 'Honestly. I'm fine, really.'

'… Okay.'

He hears them walking away a few seconds later.

Over the last few hours, Hollow has contemplated quite a lot things. For instance, the fact that he hasn't seen his siblings in one year proves that they're not coming. Ever.

They must believe that he is a murderer.

With a sob, Hollow pulls his pillow off his bed and buries his face into it. He is unable to cry actual tears- they haven't come for a very long time- but he still tries. He wants to be able to. He wants to feel human.

But he cannot cry, no matter how hard he tries.

Tears of sorrow never come any more.

.

* * *

'When can we visit Shiro-chan?' Karin demands as she and Ichigo and Yuzu walk away from Masaki's grave. 'I want to visit the place where he's buried.'

Ichigo gulps. 'I told you... I don't know.'

'Should we ask Daddy?' Yuzu asks, tears streaming down her face.

'Uh... yeah...'

'How come he wasn't buried here, like Mommy was?' Karin asks.

'Um... this is a cemetery for adults... I think...'

Lying is so hard for Ichigo, but his father told him not to let Karin or Yuzu (or any of his friends like Tatsuki or Tensa) know that Hichigo is really in an asylum.

'But where is Shiro-chan buried?'

'I don't know... I'm sorry, Karin, Yuzu...'

Their father is waiting for them at the bottom of the hill, and he is with Uncle Sôsuke. They appear to be having quite a lengthy conversation, but when Yuzu calls, 'Daddy! Uncle Sôsuke!' they look up and both smile.

'Hey, Yuzu. How are you?'

Yuzu gives her 'uncle' a big hug, and, after a moment's hesitation, Ichigo joins them.

'Good to see you, Ichigo. How's it going?'

'Come on, Karin,' Isshin calls. 'Come say hello to Uncle Sôsuke.'

Karin stands exactly where she is, then utters, 'He is _not_ our uncle. That's what Shiro-chan always said.'

Ichigo flinches. Isshin says in a warning voice, 'Karin...'

'When are we going to visit Shiro-chan's grave?' Karin asks, angry tears forming in her eyes.

'Karin-' Ichigo begins.

'I want to see the place where my big brother is buried!' Karin shouts. 'I want to visit Shiro-chan's grave! I want to say goodbye properly!'

Yuzu begins to cry, and she runs over to her father. Karin swallows, and then she too bounds over to Isshin for a hug. Ichigo clenches his fists and stares at the ground, remembering how Hichigo hated Uncle Sôsuke. If he was so full of hate, then is it possible that he did actually murder... her?

Does Ichigo really believe that?

_I... I don't know what to believe any more._

_._

* * *

The next day, Grimmjow, Nel and Ulquiorra are sitting at their table for breakfast when Hollow walks into the hall, a sad look in his eyes. He shuffles over to the table and sits next to Nel without saying anything.

'Good morning, Hollow-chan,' Nel says, making her voice sound cheerful.

Hollow blinks. 'What? What did you call me?'

'Hollow-chan. Don't you like it?'

Hollow is silent for a few moments, and then he says, 'No... it's fine, I guess. I, um... used to have a nickname... like that..'

'What was it?' Ulquiorra asks curiously.

'… Shiro-chan.'

Grimmjow chokes on the orange juice he's drinking. _'Shiro-chan?!' _he splutters.

A pink blush appears on Hollow's pale cheeks. 'Yeah... you got a problem with that?' he adds, trying to sound menacing.

'No, no, it's fine. Absolutely fine!' Grimmjow coughs. 'Do we get to call you that?' he asks after a moment, a smirk on his face.

'Hell, no!' Hollow protests. 'It was really annoying, I hated it when my family called me that!'

'But is Hollow-chan okay?'

'Uh, yeah, sure...'

'So anyway, how're you feeling today.'

'Hm? Oh, much better, thank you!'

'So you were ill yesterday...?' Ulquiorra begins slowly.

'Is that what you told them?' comes a loud voice from another table nearby. The four friends look up to see Nnoitora leaving his seat and walking over to them. He stares at Hollow and grins. 'I heard some of the staff talking yesterday. You weren't ill, were you, kid?'

'Piss off, Nnoitora,' Grimmjow says angrily.

Nnoitora's grin widens. 'Or what?'

'None of us want to talk to you,' Grimmjow growls. 'Just get lost.'

Nnoitora looks back at Hollow. 'I heard that you were hiding in your room 'cause it's been one year since you killed your mom-'

'SHUT UP!' Hollow screams, jumping to his feet and before anyone can hold him back, he's swinging his fists and then Nnoitora is stumbling back with a yelp, clutching a bloody nose. He looks up to glare at Hollow, who is a younger (and considerably smaller) kid, before deciding that he will retaliate. Nel holds Hollow back and Grimmjow and Ulquiorra step in front of the albino protectively By this point, every other kid in the room has turned away from their food to stare at the five in the corner.

'What's going on?' one of the staff asks, walking over to the scene.

'This crazy kid hit me!' Nnoitora yells, pointing a finger shaking with anger at Hollow.

'You provoked him,' Ulquiorra says calmly but with quiet fury behind his words.

In the end, Hollow doesn't get into too much trouble and Nnoitora has to go to the medical room for his bleeding nose. After this, Grimmjow, Ulquiorra and Nel decide not ask Hollow about what Nnoitora was talking about, which he is grateful for.

But Nnoitora was right, wasn't he?

Even if it was an accident, even if he never wanted it...

… he killed Masaki.

Oh, hell, _no._

* * *

**Oh dear. I believe I mentioned in an earlier chapter that me making Hollow hide in his room reminded me of Crona off Soul Eater, and the scene where he was hugging his pillow brought those memories back. What the hell? They're _nothing_ alike!**

**Oh well.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ten**

* * *

Slowly, over the years, Ichigo begins to heal.

Now that his twin his gone, he takes over the role as the protector and fighter in the family. If Karin or Yuzu get bullied, he'll be there to stop the bullies, and after a while his happy and carefree nature is replaced by a strong and stubborn personality. He hardly ever smiles any more, and he always has a frown on his face, but apart from that he appears to be fine.

A few years later, he meets Chad, and the two of them become good friends. The of course, there is still Tensa, Tatsuki, and her friend Orihime. Soon, Ichigo is starting High School, already fifteen years old, and there he meets Keigo and Mizuiro. He forgets about the terrible things that happened in his past, and can spend a good three hundred and sixty-four days of each year living an ordinary teen life.

The three hundred and sixty-fifth day is always on June the seventeenth.

That is the one day he allows himself to think about _him_. He lets himself think about his mother any time of the year, and he's come to terms with her death. He can remember her with loving fondness, and not feel too sad.

But with _him_ it's a different matter.

Why should he bother to remember the murderer of his mother?

The murderer who just _happens_ to be his younger twin.

Ichigo hopes that he never has to see Hichigo again. If he did catch even one glimpse of the albino, he's not sure what he's do. He can just be certain it wouldn't be pretty.

Whenever he thinks of Hichigo, a cold, icy feeling spreads through his chest and his eyes dim in anger. He fists clench and he bites his lip when thoughts of his brother appear in his mind.

Is this hatred, what he feels?

Hatred for the child so evil they killed their own mother.

.

_'Hurry up Shiro-chan! Or we're gonna be late!'_

_ Ichigo stares in amusement as his younger twin stumbles out of the dôjô, trying to reach Ichigo as fast as he can. The orange-haired child smiles and says, 'Come on! I thought. You told me you were faster than me!'_

_ That's odd. Usually Hichigo would have replied with, 'That's 'cause I am!'. But instead, the young albino continues running, and Ichigo doesn't miss the upset look on his face._

_ Hichigo reaches his brother and immediately launches at him, wrapping his arms around him and beginning to sob. Ichigo is stunned. His little twin brother never, ever cries. What on earth could have happened?_

_ 'Shiro-chan? Tell me what's wrong? What happened?' The two four-year-olds continue to stand in an embrace, and still the younger one won't say anything. That's when Ichigo notices the blood on his twin's cheek._

_ 'Did someone hurt you, Shiro-chan?'_

_ '… There were loads of them...' the albino whimpers. 'They got me when I came out the changing rooms!'_

_ '… Did you start fighting them?'_

_ Hichigo pushes his brother away, an angry look on his face. 'No! They just attacked me! I didn't do anything! You and Mommy and Daddy always think it's my fault when bad stuff happens, but it never is! I wish you'd all stop blaming me!'_

_ 'Ichigo? Shiro-chan? What happened?' Masaki asks, as she approaches the two boys, only to find one of them trembling with tears running down his cheeks and blood on his clothes._

_ '… Shiro-chan got hurt,' Ichigo says finally._

_ 'Were you fighting again, Shiro-chan? Because I've told you to stop, honey. You'll only get into more trouble if you go around starting fights-'_

_ 'I didn't do it! It's not my fault!' Hichigo shouts, his eyes filling with furious tears. 'Stop blaming me for stuff I never do!' With that, he races past his mother and off into the distance._

.

* * *

'Hey guys,' Grimmjow calls as he enters the chill out room. He, Nel, Ulquiorra and Hollow are the only ones in there because everyone else felt like spending the last few days of the heat wave outside in the institute grounds.

'What happened to your eye?' Hollow asks, staring up at his blue-haired friend.

Grimmjow winces and raise his hand to touch his new bruise around his eye. 'Got into a fight with that new kid, Yammy. He knocked me into a wall earlier. Don't worry, I beat the crap out of him. _And_ he's huge, too.'

'And yet you still managed to get a black eye,' Hollow smirks.

Grimmjow stops boasting and glares at the albino. 'You try fighting him. He's like double your size!'

'More like triple,' Hollow mutters.

'You should probably go to the medical room about that,' Nel says in a concerned voice. '_And_ you've got a cut on your lip.'

'Nnoitora gave me that one,' Grimmjow says darkly. 'The asshole was walking by and thought he'd join in. Still, it'll take more than Yammy and Nnoitora to beat me! I'm an-'

'Imbecile,' Ulquiorra finishes calmly, turning the page of the newspaper he's reading without seeming to care about the conversation Nel giggles.

'Come on, Grimm-chan, you need to go to the medical room,' she says, laughing more at the outraged look on his face.

'Don't call me that!'

'Why not? You're Grimm-chan, and Hollow's Hollow-chan, and Ulquiorra's Ulqui-chan...' her voice fades away as she steers Grimmjow out of the room.

Hollow laughs, then looks over at Ulquiorra, who hasn't even bothered to look up as the two noisy ones left.

'What're you reading?'

'Nothing much. But you're kind of shut away from the outside world whilst you're here, so sometimes I just like to find out what's going on,' Ulquiorra says, turning another page.

'Yeah... so, anything significant happening?'

'Nothing much, but there's this bit on the front page about a young offender not far away... maybe she'll be brought here...'

'What did she do?'

'Shot someone, by the sound of it... whoa, she shot her brother in law! Here, listen to this: _Dark Kuchiki, 15, has been found guilty of the gun crime on May the sixteenth, earlier this year. Neighbours have stated that Kuchiki was an 'unstable child' and 'likely to lash out at any time'. Her brother in law, Byakuya Kuchiki, is in critical condition at the hospital._

_ 'Despite having been found guilty, the offender's twin Rukia Kuchiki is in denial. 'Dark wouldn't do something like that,' she protests. 'She never had a great relationship with Byakuya but she would never, ever shoot him.'_

_ 'Byakuya Kuchiki is still in a coma and so is unable to provide anyone with the information they need, but as Rukia Kuchiki was in the vicinity at the time, she has described the attacker as best she can:_

_ ''It was someone wearing a hood, so I couldn't see their face. I swear it wasn't Dark.'_

_ 'However, a gun carrying bullets that match the one found in Byakuya Kuchiki's chest was found near the crime scene with the finger prints of Dark Kuchiki on it.'_

'Yeah, you're right,' Hollow says, after a pause. 'Maybe she will come here.'


	11. Chapter 11

**Eleven**

* * *

_**To: Ichigo Kurosaki**_

_**From: Hichigo Kurosaki**_

_**15th July**_

_Hey Ichigo. I know today is your tenth birthday, 'cause it's mine, too. I really miss you, but hopefully they'll realise it wasn't my fault that Mom died, and then I can come home._

_ I'm doing okay. I made some really good friends, Nel, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, and they've helped a lot. It's kind of like a school here, 'cause everyone has lessons, but of course, the difference between my school and your school is that everyone here is insane!_

_ Just kidding. We're not all crazy. But sometimes when I look at Grimmjow, I wonder..._

_ Anyway, I hope you're fine where you are. Send my love to Dad and Karin and Yuzu, too._

_ And Happy Birthday._

_ Hichigo._

.

_**To: Ichigo Kurosaki**_

_**From: Hichigo Kurosaki**_

_**6th May**_

_I don't think I'm actually allowed to send letters to my family, 'cause you never replied to the last one. I'll ask, and hopefully you'll get this one._

_ Anyway, I'm sending this letter 'cause I haven't forgotten that today is Karin and Yuzu's birthday. I hope they're okay, and that Goat-Chin isn't annoying you guys too much. Well, no point wishing that, because he'll always be annoying._

_ I really hope I'm coming home, but I'm starting to think that I won't be let out any time soon. I really don't want to talk about what happened on the 17th June, not when it's supposed to be a birthday letter for Karin and Yuzu, so maybe I'll talk about it in the next letter, whenever that one will come._

_ Say Happy Birthday to them for me._

_ Hichigo._

_._

_**To: Ichigo Kurosaki**_

_**From: Hichigo Kurosaki**_

_**17th June**_

_I'm really starting to think that you're not getting these letters, because I haven't had a single reply. Maybe you don't want to reply to me. Maybe you blame me for what happened._

_ I'm not sure myself about what happened. I know I was angry and confused, and I couldn't see anything because of the rain. I was thrashing around a lot, trying to fight you and Mom, and then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, Mom was dead._

_ You do think that I killed Mom, don't you? So do I. I think it was me. But I never wanted it. I never, ever wanted her dead._

_ I'd like to say I'll understand if you don't reply, but I wish you could just tell me. I wish you could just send one letter back._

_ And I know that it's been two years since Mom died._

_ Hichigo._

_._

_**To: Karin Kurosaki (and Yuzu too, if she'll listen)**_

_**From: Hichigo Kurosaki**_

_**25th December**_

_Dear Karin (and Yuzu if you're reading this),_

_ I'm not sure what Ichigo and Dad have told you. Perhaps you believe I killed Mom. I don't know. But... I might have. That's the really scary thing. And I know it's not the kind of thing you want to hear on Christmas day. But it was an accident. It might have been my fault, but I never meant to kill her, no matter what Ichigo might have said. I can't believe for a second that Ichigo would blame me, but just in case he told you anything different, I **never** wanted Mom dead. That is the truth._

_ Anyway, I hope you guys are doing okay. I'm not sure that you're actually getting these letters, 'cause I've already sent three to Ichigo and I never got replies. Maybe he's just not replying because he thinks I'm guilty. I'm not sure._

_ Hopefully, one day I'll come home, and then I'll see you guys again._

_ I miss you all, and Merry Christmas!_

_ Shiro-chan._

_._

* * *

No, it doesn't look as if he'll be getting any replies.

The last one he sent, to Karin, was three years ago, and he hasn't bothered to send one since.

After all, he never got any letters back, so there was no point sending more.

.

* * *

'Ichigo... there's something I need to tell you.'

Ichigo looks up from the homework he was helping Yuzu with at the table. It's one of the few times Isshin Kurosaki can be serious, and Ichigo can tell it's really important.

'Yuzu, Karin, can you leave for a few minutes?' Isshin says slowly. Karin turns off the TV and jumps off the sofa, staring at her father in confusion.

'Is Big Brother in trouble?' Yuzu asks, worried. Isshin shakes his head and smiles.

'Nah, I just need to tell him something in private.'

Yuzu and Karin both leave the room shooting curious glances at their father and brother as they walk out the door.

'What is it?' Ichigo says in a tired voice. 'If it's about that fight I got into the other day alongside Tensa and Chad, I'm really sorry, okay-?'

'It's about Hichigo.'

Ichigo freezes. His eyes widen and as if his heart actually stops for a moment. Standing there, in shock, he waits silently for his father to continue.

'He... he used to send letters. A long time ago.'

'… L-letters?'

'He sent four. I packed them away in the attic because I thought that if I showed them to you you'd be far too upset. I've never opened them, so I don't know what they say. I found them yesterday when I was sorting through some old photos.'

'And... and they're all for me?'

'The fourth was for Karin, but she and Yuzu believe he's dead, so I can't give it to her. But I think it's only right that you have yours...' With that, Isshin holds out three white envelopes. Ichigo takes them tentatively, then walks over to the door and opens it. Karin and Yuzu are waiting outside, not eavesdropping, just waiting. Ichigo nods at them and proceeds up to his bedroom.

.

* * *

Ichigo hasn't cried in such a long time, and it catches him by surprise as the tears appear.

The difference is, though, that these are tears of anger. Tears of fury.

_He admitted it. He admitted he killed her. It's his fault she's dead. He's a murderer._

_ I hate him._

.

**Oh dear, everyone appears to be miserable. Probably because I'm not feeling too good myself. Still, writing fan fictions always make me feel better. And, no matter how sad this story can get, just remember that I shoved Grimmjow, Nel and Ulquiorra in to brighten things up and make it more cheerful. Haha, look at that: I managed to fit the words 'Ulquiorra' and 'cheerful' into the same sentence. Now you _know_ I'm insane.**

**Bye bye~**


	12. Chapter 12

**Twelve**

Ichigo is hardly able to focus in his lessons. He's been awake throughout the previous night, and now he's exhausted. He doesn't even properly notice the new exchange student being placed at the desk next to his.

'Kurosaki! Are you even listening?'

Ichigo snaps his eyes open to look at the teacher, who is standing right in front of his desk. He gives her a sheepish smile.

'Sorry, miss...'

'Hrmph!' The teacher makes her way back to the front of the class and leans over her desk, fiddling with some paperwork. 'Anyway, assuming Kurosaki actually knows what we were talking about, you should all know what to do. Now, for your partners...'

_We must be working on some project in pairs or something_, Ichigo thinks tiredly.

'… going alphabetically...' the teacher continues, still trying to find a sheet under all the other pieces of paper, ignoring many groans from students who were hoping to work together.

'… here we are: Arisawa and Asano.'

_Heh heh... Tatsuki hates Keigo... she finds him really annoying..._ Ichigo thinks with a slight smile. The teacher continues to scroll down the list.

'… Hinamori and Hitsugaya...'

_They'll be glad. They've been friends for ages and I swear they have a crush on each other... Momo and Toshiro and lucky to be put as partners..._

'… Inoue and Ishida...'

_Uryu definitely likes Orihime..._

Without properly meaning to, Ichigo manages to take his mind off his lack of sleep as he continues to listen to the teacher pairing all of them off.

_ Wonder who I'll be with... who's next to me in the register?_

'… Kurosaki and Kuchiki...'

_Who?_

The teacher finishes with the list just as the bell goes for lunch. Ichigo rises from his seat, wondering who his partner is. As he walks to the door he sees the new transfer student (a petite raven-haired girl) walk up to him, practically analysing him with her large violet eyes.

'You're Ichigo Kurosaki?'

'Yeah...'

'I'm Rukia Kuchiki. We're supposed to work together for the project,' the girl says.

'Oh... right...'

The two of them leave the classroom together. Because he honestly wasn't listening to a word the teacher said prior to the list of partners, Rukia explains exactly what they're supposed to be doing for the project. Ichigo steers them towards the roof where he eats with his friends, and to his surprise, Rukia doesn't object. Doesn't she want to eat with the other girls?

'You... had a twin. Where is he?'

Ichigo stops dead in his tracks, then turns to face her slowly. She stares up at him, her large violet eyes rather innocent, unaware of the impact of her words. 'Hichigo... he was an albino... and really good at fighting... where is he?'

Ichigo takes a deep breath, then says, very quietly, 'Have we met before?'

Rukia shakes her head. 'No. My cousin is the one who met you both.'

'Wait... what're you talking about-?'

He is interrupted by Keigo launching himself at him, shouting, 'ICHIGO~!', and he has to raise his fists in defence. Rukia giggles slightly and decides that it's probably a good idea if she does eat with people her own gender. She flashes Ichigo a sharp-toothed grin and bounds down the stairs and out of sight.

.

* * *

'Hey, guys, you gotta see this!' Grimmjow shouts enthusiastically as he races into the main hall. Hollow, Ulquiorra and Nel are all having their breakfast, and they look up with expressions of boredom and exasperation. This is hardly the first time Grimmjow has come running into whichever room they happen to be in, all excited.

'Zommari and Aaroniero are fighting on the field!' Grimmjow says breathlessly. 'Come on you guys, you gotta come and see this!'

Hollow jumps to his feet and after rolling his eyes, Ulquiorra joins them at the door. They look back at Nel expectantly.

'Boys and their violence,' Nel mutters.

'Are you coming?' Hollow asks.

'Not interested. Besides, they asked me to show this new kid around.'

'New kid? Did he do anyone in?' Grimmjow asks eagerly, temporarily forgetting the fight outside. Hollow laughs.

Nel sighs. 'Why d'you have to ask that every single time someone new comes here? And besides, she's a girl.'

'Uh huh. Whatever.' Grimmjow, already uninterested, races out the door with Hollow and Ulquiorra following behind.

.

* * *

The fight lasts quite long because others in the vicinity decide to take sides and it becomes a full scale battle. Because Nnoitora and Yammy side with Zommari, Grimmjow decides to join forces with Aaroniero, and Hollow joins in because he's got nothing better to do. Ulquiorra just stands on the sidelines, commenting on how they're all trash.

The fight lasts a good fifteen minutes before it's broken up by the staff. They're all punished by having any existing privileges taken away. Still, they certainly manage to have a good laugh about it afterwards.

As it's a weekend, they just hang around outside for the rest of the day, but as they're under constant surveillance from the staff, no more fights are allowed (which annoys Grimmjow).

When they make their way into the hall for dinner, Nel is already there alongside a petite girl with lilac coloured hair.

'Guys, this is Dark,' Nel introduces as they sit down.

'Dark Kuchiki?' Ulquiorra asks.

'The one who shot her brother?' Hollow questions.

Dark fixes large lilac eyes on Hollow in a glare. 'I didn't shoot him.'

He nods thoughtfully. 'Ah, so you were framed. I used to think that I was, too...'

'I know who you are,' Dark says quietly. 'My family were preparing to move to your town when my brother was shot. They'll be living there now. You're Hichigo Kurosaki.'

'I know I am.'

'You murdered your mother.'

'If everyone keeps saying that, it must be true,' Hollow replies coolly, flinching inside. 'That was years ago. How d'you know about that?'

'My cousin met you once,' Dark answers. Both of them seem to be oblivious of Grimmjow, Nel and Ulquiorra watching them curiously. 'Besides, I heard the staff mentioning that you killed your mother. I heard them saying that you shut yourself in your room every June the seventeenth.'

Should he be getting angry? This sounds like the sort of thing that would make most people angry...

'I met your cousin?'

Dark rolls her eyes. 'You fought him once. I heard that you used to get into a lot of fights.'

'I still do,' Hollow points out, indicating the bruise on his cheek that Nnoitora gave him earlier today.

'You landed my cousin in hospital with a concussion,' Dark says, but she doesn't sound as if she's accusing him or anything.

'Seriously?!' Grimmjow bursts out, looking at Hollow with a new found respect. 'How old were you?'

'Eight,' Hollow says, remembering. It was that day in the park, when... when...

When _he _tried to fight them.

Hollow remembers having to save _him._

And Hollow got into a load of trouble.

'Looks like we're the evil twins, huh?' Dark sighs.

'What?'

'You know. You have a twin named Ichigo. I have a twin named Rukia. We're the ones in an asylum for terrible crimes. I guess that makes us the evil ones.'

'You... you have a _twin_?!' Grimmjow says incredulously, staring at Hollow.

'You haven't told your friends anything, have you?' Dark says, watching Hollow carefully.

Hollow closes his eyes. 'It doesn't matter any more.'


	13. Chapter 13

**Thirteen**

'What exactly am I supposed to say?' Dark asks, turning around to face Hollow having reached the door. 'I don't even need to go. Why have they summoned me here?'

'Use your brain- you're in an asylum,' Hollow scoffs. 'Everyone has to go and have a private chat every month or so- or every week if you're new.'

'Is it a psychiatrist in there?'

'Something like that. I mean, we are meant to be insane, right?'

'I dunno... you and the other three seem pretty sane... even if you did do terrible stuff to get here...'

'Pretty sane, huh?' Hollow repeats, a grin appearing on his face. 'You should see Grimmjow at Christmas...'

'Do I even want to know?'

'No, probably not. Anyway, it doesn't really matter what you say in there,' Hollow says. 'It's not as if they're gonna release you any time soon, and they're probably not going to find a reason to lock you up away from human beings altogether... I wouldn't worry about it.'

'Right...' Dark mutters. She presses her hand against the glass window of the door and it swings open, then she disappears inside. Hollow decides that he shouldn't need to wait for her- she'll be in there a while, as it's her first meeting.

'Did you show Dark to the office?' Nel asks as he enters the lounge. Over in the corner, Ulquiorra is thrashing Grimmjow at a game of chess. Hollow grins again as he hears Ulquiorra say, very calmly, 'Checkmate', and Grimmjow swears under his breath.

'Yeah. She reckons the four of us aren't insane teenagers in need of therapy, you know.'

'We're not insane,' Nel scolds.

'Then why are we here,' Hollow says, still smiling, vaguely gesturing the room with his hand.

'We just had problems when we were younger,' Nel says calmly. 'I'm sure if they let us go back to the real world we'd do just fine.'

'Though we're not really helping our cases if we get into fights all the time,' Grimmjow calls.

'That's your own fault,' says Ulquiorra.

'I blame Nnoitora and Yammy,' Grimmjow says stubbornly.

'You'll blame anyone but yourself,' Hollow says with a laugh.

'Never mind that,' Grimmjow says, looking intently at Hollow. 'How come you never told us you had a twin? Is he identical? How come he isn't here too?'

'I guess... he's just not as... evil as I am,' Hollow says. He means it as a joke but it doesn't quite come out sounding like that.

Nel looks sympathetic. 'What's his name, again?'

'Ichigo.'

Ulquiorra's mouth curves ever so slightly into a tiny smile. 'Strawberry.'

Hollow grins. 'That was my best comeback when he called me 'Shiro-chan'.'

'Was he albino too?'

'No, but he had orange hair.'

Grimmjow snorts with laughter. 'You two must have looked hilarious together.'

'You have blue hair! You're one to talk!' Hollow says defensively.

.

* * *

They have two weeks to complete the project, and Rukia invites Ichigo round to her house so they can get to work on it.

Ichigo had no idea exactly how rich the Kuchiki family is, so he gets a shock when he first sees the house, having been following Rukia's directions that she gave him earlier. 'House' is not quite the best word to describe it. 'Mansion' seems far more suitable. It is massive, with large iron gates to the grounds. The woman on the intercom at the gate lets him in when he explains that he is a classmate of Rukia's and that they're completing a project together. Evidently they_ are_ expecting him, which is a relief.

The vast hallway that he enters after coming through the front door is occupied by one other person. A teenager, maybe three years older or so, is just coming through another door off to the side as Ichigo comes in. They stare at each other, both beginning to recognise the other around the same time.

_'Hey! Mutants!'_

_ Ichigo looks up and Hichigo leaps off the swing, landing quite gracefully on the grass a few feet away. Both children stare at the boys, and Ichigo finally says, 'What did you call us?'_

_ 'What? Are you deaf, Carrot-Top?' the same boy taunts. He's one to taunt- he has flaming red hair that is quite long pulled back in a pony tail, and a white bandana. He must be the ringleader of the group._

It's the same kid. Flaming red hair, still in a pony tail, still wearing a white bandana. From the look on the red head's face, he has also realised who Ichigo is.

'You-' Ichigo says, starting forwards.

'Hey, Ichigo,' Rukia calls, appearing behind the red head. She winces when she sees the looks on both of their faces, as if she knows exactly what happened on that day. Then again, so far Ichigo has concluded that Rukia Kuchiki is full of surprises. Maybe she _does_ know.

'What's he doing here?' the red head snarls.

'I invited him. We're working on a project together in school,' Rukia says calmly. 'Just because you fought a few years ago doesn't mean that it should remain the same, Renji.'

'_He's_ your cousin?' Ichigo demands, barely managing to keep the disgust out of his voice.

'Yep,' Rukia says simply. 'See what I mean now?'

'Yes,' Ichigo says. 'I remember him attacking me.'

'Well, one can hope that he's not a complete and utter jerk now,' Rukia says, a smile playing around her lips.

'Hey!' Renji protests, spinning around to face her. She just raises her eyebrows at him so he turns back to Ichigo instead. 'That crazy twin of yours better not be coming-'

'He's not here,' Ichigo says coldly, feeling that familiar fury course through him at the mention of... _him._

'Oh yeah- he got himself banged up in an asylum 'cause he killed your mom or something, didn't he?'

'Get out, Renji,' Rukia says icily.

Renji gives Ichigo one last contemptuous look and then he disappears out the door he came from.

'Sorry about that,' Rukia says with a sheepish smile.

'S'okay. You obviously don't mind me calling him an asshole, which is something.'

'Oh, on the contrary, I agree with you on that.' This comment makes both of them laugh.

There's a moment of silence, then Rukia says, 'I... I know how you feel... I have a twin, too.'

Ichigo stares at her, lost for words. She continues, 'She got framed... and she got locked away as well.'

Somehow this should enrage him. Whenever somebody usually mentions... _him_... Ichigo gets very angry inside, although he has to keep it hidden and act as if he believes that _he_ is dead. _How dare people mention that murderer?_ That's the train of though Ichigo usually has, at least until he's calmed down. But somehow this is different. Somebody else who knows what it's like to have a twin who was taken away to an asylum- hell, perhaps even the _same_ asylum- and to have to live with the fact that their twin is a criminal.

But there's one difference.

'Your twin was framed,' Ichigo points out. 'Whereas... _he _is guilty.'

Rukia looks at him closely. 'Do you really want to believe that?'

'I doesn't matter what I want to believe,' Ichigo says quietly. 'All that matters is that I know he's a murderer.'


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, here come the warnings, so please don't rant at me in the reviews. One: I am severely sleep deprived and I am literally blinking to keep myself awake as I write this. Two: I am depressed. Badly. I do not need horrible reviews to make me feel any worse. These two points alone should warn you that the chapter might not be up to it's usual standard. I wouldn't know. That's for you guys to decide, I guess.**

**More warnings: An emotional breakdown from a character who does not have emotional breakdowns, _ever_, and swearing, from a character who is extremely likely to swear.**

**I am now, without any more ado, going to sleep. Wake me up with nice reviews... please...**

* * *

**Fourteen**

'I HATE YOU ALL!'

Hollow sighs. It seems as if Grimmjow is getting one of his mood swings. Nel will always try to calm him down but it's always Ulquiorra who succeeds in the end, which used to surprise Hollow a long time ago but now he's gotten used to it.

'FUCK OFF! YOU'RE NEVER GONNA LET ME GO, ARE YOU?'

'Grimmjow, please refrain from this vile language...' one member of the staff tries. Must be Grimmjow's psychiatrist. Poor her.

Hollow stares at his bedroom as he sits on his bed, listening to the angry voices on the other side. After another sigh he gets to his feet and makes his way over to the door. If the worst comes to the worst and Grimmjow gets violent, at least Hollow knows that because he is smaller and therefore quicker, he might not get hurt too badly.

'Grimmjow. Stop being ridiculous,' Hollow commands, standing in the doorway with a frown on his face. Grimmjow is a right mess; he is red with anger and seething. The psychiatrist seems to be a little frightened, which is worrying because she should be used to this kind of behaviour, especially from Grimmjow. She shoots a grateful look in Hollow's direction, then scuttles off, obviously going to either get more staff or to wait for Grimmjow to calm down.

'BITCH!' Grimmjow screams after her.

'Shut up,' Hollow snaps. He grabs Grimmjow's arm and steers him towards the lounge, where Nel and Ulquiorra are making use of their free period on the two available computers as Dark sits next to Nel, drawing a picture of what appears to be a scythe.

'Did we hear yelling?' Nel asks curiously.

'How should I know- they're your fucking ears,' Grimmjow says viciously. Ulquiorra raises his eyebrows at the blue-haired teen.

'What happened?'

'They're never letting us go, that's what fucking happened!' Grimmjow shouts angrily, throwing himself down on the nearest chair, a furious expression on his face. 'We're gonna be trapped into this fucking place until we're old enough to be carted off to a fucking asylum for adults. We're never fucking getting out!'

'Not if we show we're mentally unstable, like you've been so kindly demonstrating,' Hollow says coldly.

Grimmjow shoots a frustrated look in the albino's direction as he leaps up from the chair. 'You murdered your own fucking mother when you were nine! They'll never let _you _go!'

Hollow bites his lip, fury welling up inside of him. 'Grimmjow...'

'Don't fight, please don't fight!' Nel cries, throwing herself between the two boys.

'They'll let us go one day,' Hollow says quietly.

'They won't! We'll be locked up for ever!'

'Not if we don't escape,' Dark says mildly. Everyone ignores her. Everyone, that is, except Ulquiorra, who looks at her as if actually considering this.

'They might let Nel out. They might let Dark out. They might let Ulquiorra out. Hell, they might even let me out,' Grimmjow snarls. 'But you're never getting out of this place, Hollow. You're a murderer, and they know you're dangerous-'

'I DIDN'T KILL HER!' Hollow screams. 'IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! IT WASN'T MY FAULT!'

_I've always been so willing to accept it... but I didn't do it. There's no fucking way I am ever going to admit it any more. Never again._

_ I DIDN'T MURDER MOM._

Hollow pushes past Nel and grabs Grimmjow by the front of his shirt. 'I didn't murder her. Do you understand?'

And somehow, something in his voice scares the living shit out of Grimmjow, although he will never, ever admit it.

'Whatever.'

Grimmjow shakes Hollow off and slumps back down in the chair. Hollow shoots him one last filthy look before he quietly asks Nel whether he can borrow the computer. After five minutes, one request to Ulquiorra to hack onto something the kids at the institute aren't allowed on for him and a confirmation email, Hollow has a brand new Facebook account. As it is contact with the outside world, it is not allowed. In fact, the only way they are allowed to talk to anyone outside the institute is by letter.

Hollow clicks on the search box and types the name _Ichigo Kurosaki_ in. And there he is, right at the top. The profile picture is one of Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu...

He's grown up. Little Ichigo, all grown up. Ha! How weird! There's a frown on his face, but his eyes look happy... and Karin and Yuzu are bigger, too. Wow...

Hollow feels a little sad, because of course he is missing from the picture. He clicks on it and Ichigo's profile is loaded up. He immediately recognises the names of Ichigo's Facebook friends... Tensa Zangetsu... Tatsuki Arisawa...

Rukia Kuchiki.

Ah. So Ichigo knows Dark's twin after all. Funny thing, really. Small world. He continues to look through the names.

Sôsuke Aizen.

Immediately, an irrational hatred flares up inside Hollow at the mention of that name. Before he knows what he is doing, he has clicked on the profile of the man he despises, and he is reading it from top to bottom.

And, on the whole of that profile, one name, a contact, catches his eye.

Cifer. Ulquiorra's surname.

'Hey... Ulquiorra... do you know this 'Makoto Cifer?'

Something flashes in Ulquiorra's eyes. It's not fear. It's not anything like that. It's something far deeper, as if he remembers something. The dark-haired boy stares at Hollow, then he mouths the name as if trying to see if it rings a bell. Then, quite suddenly, his emerald eyes widen and he lets out a scream.

'Ulqui-chan!'

'Hey, Ulquiorra!'

Grimmjow, Nel, Dark and Hollow all crowd around Ulquiorra, who has collapsed on the floor, clutching his head, looking horrified. He looks up at them, his face full of anguish.

'Hollow, what did you do?' Grimmjow thunders.

'I don't know!' Hollow says, frantically running his hand through his snowy white hair.

'My mother!' Ulquiorra gasps, and everyone is shocked to see that there are real tears in his eyes, running down his cheeks. Ulquiorra, the boy who shows no emotion, is crying. And no one has the faintest idea what to do.

'Makoto... she is my mother... I remember!'

'What?' Dark asks.

'He has no memories prior to when he was seven!' Nel says breathlessly.

Ulquiorra stares at Hollow. 'How...? How did you...?'

'Her name was on the contacts list of a family friend!' Hollow says. 'But how would he know your mother?'

'See what else it says!' Dark cries.

Hollow jumps back to the computer, trying to block out Nel's voice as she attempts to soothe Ulquiorra.

'No good. There's nothing else. We'd need to hack onto his account to see more.'

'Let's do it!' Grimmjow says excitedly.

'How?' Hollow snaps.

'I dunno... Ulqui's good with that sort of thing, but...'

'What's the guy's name?' Ulquiorra asks.

'Sôsuke Aizen, and a fat lot of good that'll do-'

Ulquiorra's eyes widen again. 'I... I know that name, too.' He leaps up from where he was sitting on the floor, ignoring Nel's protests as she tries to convince him to rest.

'Wait, how do you know Sôsuke-?' Hollow begins.

Grimmjow looks as if he's seen a ghost. He hesitantly looks over Ulquiorra's shoulder and recoils when he sees a picture of Aizen.

'I... I know him, too.'

'What?!' Hollow says, spinning around.

'He... he drove me away from every home I lived in. I recognise his face. That's definitely him. Every foster home I got sent to, he'd find me. I don't know what he wanted with me, only that... I think he wanted to kill me.'

Hollow stares at the blue-haired boy in disbelief. The very same Sôsuke Aizen, Masak's old friend, knows the Cifer family and tried to kill Grimmjow when he was little?

'I know him, too,' Dark says quietly. 'He was doing business with my brother, and they fell out. I think _he_ shot Byakuya, and he framed me.'

Hollow shakes his head, staring at the ground. This is just too impossible...

'The gang who killed my family were under a man named Aizen's orders,' Nel says quietly.

_What the hell?! How is it that all four of my friends know Aizen? Is he some sort of criminal or something? If so, then..._

_ What is he planning with my family?_

_ Or maybe..._

_ Maybe he already got what he wanted._

_ Maybe he killed Mom._


	15. Chapter 15

**'Sup guys? I realize how horribly depressed and miserable I was in the last chapter. But now I'm feeling pretty good, so don't kill the mood with horrible reviews! Which is not a message saying 'don't review'. I WANT REVIEWS! ... please.**

**(PS. the song is _You Can't Take Me_ by Bryan Adams, and it's used in the film Spirit. Which, ironically, is about a horse. (King and his Horse, anyone?!))**

* * *

**Fifteen**

* * *

'My real family was killed by a lone gunman... I was only little, and I was kindergarten. The gunman came looking fro me, at every foster home I was sent to. I always had to run...'

The other four stare at Grimmjow in silence, confused because this is the first time he has ever opened up about why he always needed to run away. It's dinner time now, and in the remaining time before they came into the hall they scanned Aizen's Facebook page, wondering whether it could tell them anything else. Of course not. The information on that page was for the world to see, so if he really is a criminal then he wouldn't display anything that would suggest it.

'Why did you never tell us this?' Nel asks Grimmjow finally.

'I'm not the only one who never opened up,' Grimmjow mutters, his eyes flickering towards Hollow for a second.

'How's the memory going, Ulquiorra?' Dark asks.

The dark-haired boy closes his eyes and buries his face in his hands. 'Not much... I can picture my mother... and she obviously has something do do with Aizen... _had_ something to do with him...' He looks up sadly. 'I think she might be dead.'

'So, apart from that, you still remember nothing before you were seven?' Hollow says.

'Nothing,' Ulquiorra murmurs.

'What about you, Dark?' Nel says, turning to the other girl. 'Did you say he shot your brother?'

'Byakuya is a business man,' Dark explains, lowering her voice as a member of staff walks past her table. They all lean in to listen. 'Sôsuke Aizen was a rival. They tried working together in a joint company but when they went bankrupt they blamed it on each other. A couple of nights before Byakuya was shot, Rukia and I saw Aizen enter the house to have a talk with Byakuya. They had a huge argument... I'm pretty sure you can work out the conclusion I came to.'

'But didn't the gun have your fingerprints on it?'

'I saw a guy wearing a hood come in,' Dark says, a shadow crossing over her face. 'He was carrying a gun. He wore gloves so his own fingerprints wouldn't be recognised. As he was nearing my brother's office, I tried wrestling the gun from his grasp.' Dark winces here, and subconsciously rubs her head. 'He knocked me out. When I woke up, Byakuya had been shot. My fingerprints must have gotten on the gun when I tried grabbing it. When I reached my brother, Rukia was already there cradling his head in her hands. She screamed at me to call an ambulance. The rest is history.'

'What about you, Nel?' Hollow asks.

'My family was rich. What does that tell you?'

'It was a robbery,' Ulquiorra says quietly. 'They killed your family because they got in the way.'

'Correct,' Nel says bitterly. 'How unbelievable is this? We're all sent here and we all have the same thing in common: Sôsuke Aizen wrecked our lives.'

'And you, Hollow?' Grimmjow says finally. 'You reckon he killed your mom.'

'During that rainstorm, as I was running away from my mother and Ichigo I remember seeing someone in the distance. We were alone, apart from that one person. I remember something flashing not that far away as I was fighting Ichigo and Mom,' Hollow murmurs. 'I always thought it was one of the glass shards but it was moving- the light from a passing car was reflecting off it. His glasses. He wore glasses. It had to be him. He's a maniac. He placed a glass shard in my hand and made it look like I killed her.'

There's a very long silence, then Hollow continues, 'Mom always said that she and Aizen were good friends, and that they'd known each other for a long time. Maybe something happened a long time ago which is why he left for so long, and when he came back he was determined to have his revenge or something.'

'And the revenge was killing your mom,' Dark finishes.

'I guess so,' Hollow says quietly.

'Okay, so what now?' Grimmjow asks. 'We reckon we know some truth or other, but what are we going to do with it? We're stuck in this dump and there's no way that even if we were able to contact the police they would believe us.'

'Always looking on the bright side,' Hollow says, actually managing to grin. 'Plan, Ulqui?'

'We break out,' Ulquiorra says simply.

'Yeah, sure, that sounds easy enough,' Dark says sarcastically. 'How would we manage that?'

'Ulqui broke into a bank,' Grimmjow says, a grin splitting across his face. 'Who's to say he can't get us out of here?'

'If he could, then why has he not done it up until this point?' Dark demands.

'Because there was never any point,' Ulquiorra says. 'Up until this point, there was nothing for any of us out there. We're all believed to be dangerous and so if they were to catch us they would just bring us back here again. And they probably will catch us if we escape.'

'We won't let them,' Grimmjow says forcefully. He seems to be growing more and more excited. 'We'll keep running- I always managed it.'

'And you always got caught,' Nel says worriedly.

'I'm older now- we all are! We'll steal a car or something once we're out, and then...'

'Where do we go?' Ulquiorra asks.

'Karakura Town,' Hollow and Dark say in unison.

'What?' Grimmjow, Nel and Ulquiorra say together.

Hollow's grin widens. 'Dark and I still have families, and they're both in Karakura Town. Rukia believes that Dark's innocent and Byakuya might be able to defend her once he's recovered and is out of hospital. As for my family... I bet they feel I'm innocent... deep down... we'll convince them of the truth and then we might be able to prove that Aizen is a psychopath or something.'

'Great,' Nel says, a smile appearing on her face as well. 'Ulqui-chan, how d'you reckon we can get out of here?'

Ulquiorra frowns. 'I'll need to think about it- we're not exactly escaping tonight. I'd say we'd need a few days of preparations.'

'But we're really doing it?' Dark says excitedly. 'We're really gonna escape?'

'Oh yeah,' Hollow says, feeling happier than he's been in six years.

You can't take me  
Yeah

Got to fight another fight  
I gotta run another night  
Get it out  
Check it out  
I'm on my way and I don't feel right  
I gotta get me back  
I can't be beat and that's a fact  
It's OK  
I'll find a way  
You ain't gonna take me down no way

Don't judge a thing until you know what's inside it  
Don't push me  
I'll fight it  
Never gonna give in  
Never gonna give it up, no  
If you can't catch a wave then you're never gonna ride it  
You can't come uninvited  
Never gonna give in  
Never gonna give it up, no  
You can't take me  
I'm free

Why did it all go wrong?  
I wanna know what's going on  
And what's this holding me?  
I'm not where I'm supposed to be  
I gotta fight another fight  
I gotta fight with all my might  
I'm getting out, so check it out  
You're in my way  
Yeah, you better watch out

Oh, come on!

Don't judge a thing until youknow what's inside it  
Don't push me  
I'll fight it  
Never gonna give in  
Never gonna give it up, no  
If you can't catch a wave then you're never gonna ride it  
You can't come uninvited  
Never gonna give in  
Never gonna give it up, no  
You can't take me  
I'm free


End file.
